Issue link: http://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/1022975
Neurologic Disease Worldwide ACCORDING TO THE "Global Burden of Disease Study 2015," neurologic diseases have become the most common cause of disability- adjusted life years in populations around the world. The analysis was based on data from 195 nations and examined the trend from a variety of perspectives, breaking out groups by categories including age, sex, nation and socio- demographics. Stroke, migraine, Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease were among the conditions the analysis examined. In 1817 London, during the height of the Industria l Revolution, Dr. James Parkinson described the disease after treating a number of patients who reported symptoms of a condition that hadn't previously been recognized. Since those initial reports, more than 1,000 studies have linked byproducts of the Industrial Revolution, such as heavy metals and sol- vents, as well as pesticides, to Parkinson's. Individuals exposed to these chemicals are at two to five times higher risk of develop- ing the condition than those who have not been exposed, according to Dr. Dorsey. The fourth factor may be confounding to medical professionals and the general population alike. For uncertain reasons, smoking is associated with a 40 percent decreased risk of developing Parkinson's disease. In recent years, smoking rates have steadily declined, especia lly in theªU.S. "That, by one estimate, will increase the number of people a™ected by Parkinson's by about 10 percent to the ex tent that smoking a nd /or its factors a re caus- a lly related to Pa rkinson's," Dr. Dorsey says. " It 's not just somet h i n g t hat 's pure association." A PRESSING NEED There is g reat urgency in combating the growing incidence of Parkinson's, observers say. "The increase of Parkinson's disease, as well as other degenerative diseases, is crucial to be addressed now because it will have a major impact to the soci- et y economica l ly a nd socia l ly," says Rodolfo Savica, MD, PhD, Consultant of Neurology at the Mayo Clinic Rochester and Associate Professor of Neurology and Epidemiology at the Mayo Clinic School of Medicine in Rochester, Minnesota. "Recent data on the costs of patients with Parkinson's disease revealed how medical care costs more than doubled compared to patients without Parkinson's." Key steps to address the preva lence of P a rk i n s on's du r i n g t h e c om i n g yea rs, according to Dr. Dorsey, include minimizing or eliminating the use of cer ta in pesticides, such a s pa raquat , and industria l solvents, such as trichlo- roethylene. Encoura g ing indiv idua ls to exercise v igorously a nd reg u la rly, especia lly during their 30s a nd 40s, is essentia l as well. Drs. Dorsey a nd Bloem a lso empha- size the impor ta nce of advocating for i ncrea s e d f u nd i n g a nd re s ea rch t o better understa nd causes a nd risk fac- tors for the disease. They point out that HI V resea rch gets rough ly $3 bi l lion a nnua lly from the Nationa l Institutes of Hea lth, whereas less tha n $200 mil- lion goes to resea rch on Pa rk inson's disea se — which a ffects about ha lf a s ma ny A merica ns as HI V. In addition, they stress the need to develop new vaccines, improve access to ca re a nd lower treatment costs. ■ 1 4